384 pages
English language
Published Nov. 16, 2022 by Pan Macmillan.
Each decade, only the six most uniquely talented magicians are selected to earn a place in the Alexandrian Society, the foremost secret society in the world. The chosen will secure a life of power and prestige beyond their wildest dreams.
But at what cost?
Each of the six newest recruits has their reasons for accepting the Society’s elusive invitation. Even if it means growing closer than they could have imagined to their most dangerous enemies— or risking unforgivable betrayal from their most trusted allies— they will fight tooth and nail for the right to join the ranks of the Alexandrians.
Even if it means they won’t all survive the year.
Me ha parecido espectacular, no sólo la evolución de la trama y el desarrollo de los personajes, si no el world building y EL SISTEMA DE MAGIA, POR FAVOR, ME PARECE FANTÁSTICA ESTA PERSPECTIVA. Pero. ¿A quién se le ocurre crear toda esa tensión tan de poquito a poco, aumentar la presión en la olla a vapor... Y cortar ahí? Es demasiado anticlimático y trunca muy repentinamente la narración.
Me ha parecido espectacular, no sólo la evolución de la trama y el desarrollo de los personajes, si no el world building y EL SISTEMA DE MAGIA, POR FAVOR, ME PARECE FANTÁSTICA ESTA PERSPECTIVA. Pero. ¿A quién se le ocurre crear toda esa tensión tan de poquito a poco, aumentar la presión en la olla a vapor... Y cortar ahí? Es demasiado anticlimático y trunca muy repentinamente la narración.
Written like bad streaming TV: mandatory "plot twists" clumsily done, drawing things out artificially, a rushed final episode, and introducing a shadowy character in the last shot to laugh menacingly.
Frustrating, like most Dark Academia books. It’s got some interesting ideas and moments, but the writing doesn’t sustain them. The magic system and world-building are underdeveloped. Is it a rule in this genre that magic users have to be assholes?
What world building! What a magic system! What a premise, & setting, I can't wait to find out more!
...and after the book just sort of fizzles out & ends, I'm still waiting.
The characters are all disappointing, particularly the women. The (annoying) Madonna, the (annoying) Whore, & the one who is also there. The fellas aren't a lot better. I feel like The Atlas Six could have been The Atlas Two, which would have made for far more interesting & complex characters to have boring conversations with each other.
Why though, why have daily classes that are never involved in the story? What's in them? Do the characters sit frozen & silent until later that evening when a boring conversation between two ppl happens?
Still, there's a bit of fucking & definitely some Gay Yearning ™️ so I didn't hate it. Love a bit of YA magic academy, wouldn't …
What world building! What a magic system! What a premise, & setting, I can't wait to find out more!
...and after the book just sort of fizzles out & ends, I'm still waiting.
The characters are all disappointing, particularly the women. The (annoying) Madonna, the (annoying) Whore, & the one who is also there. The fellas aren't a lot better. I feel like The Atlas Six could have been The Atlas Two, which would have made for far more interesting & complex characters to have boring conversations with each other.
Why though, why have daily classes that are never involved in the story? What's in them? Do the characters sit frozen & silent until later that evening when a boring conversation between two ppl happens?
Still, there's a bit of fucking & definitely some Gay Yearning ™️ so I didn't hate it. Love a bit of YA magic academy, wouldn't read any more in the series though.
Six magicians in are chosen to join the Alexandrian Society, guardians of the Library if Alexandria. Only five will be initiated into the society.
This is a story about magic and those who are naturally gifted, but more than this it is a story of power. It explores the reasons people seek power, how power seduces and ultimately corrupts those who seek it for whatever reason.
The characters often felt like they were there as a way to explore the mechanisms of power.
Although the characters never really came alive for me, I found this book and it’s take on power fascinating. I’m looking forward to reading The Atlas Paradox to see where Olivie Blake takes this ambitious thought experiment next.
rereading this before the sequel comes out at some point in october, really was as good as i remembered! perfect dark achedemia fantasy thingy
I'm still processing and I think it will turn out that I have some serious qualms with the book, but I have to give lots of extra points for the philosophical interludes and the willingness to develop characters in ways that make them less likeable but ultimately more realistic and more interesting, especially in terms of how they interact with each other. I also have to give points for the ambiguity about the morality of the institutions introduced, or even their purpose. That may end up being exactly what complicates my view of the book, and I doubt I'll be able to fully reconcile my reaction until the sequel comes, but I have to admit I enjoyed the reading experience and that's what really matters.
